Two Ohio colleges fall victim to Ponzi scheme

Thursday

Jul 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2010 at 5:03 PM

A former hedge-fund manager has pleaded guilty to charges of bilking as much as $900-million from investors, including four university endowments. Among the schools that lost money are Bowling Green State University and Ohio Northern University.

Here is a portion of a story from Paul Fain of the Chronicle of Higher Education:

In his plea, Paul R. Greenwood said on Wednesday that he and his partner, Steven Walsh, had spent money from the investment accounts on themselves and their family members. According to investigators, the two spent at least $160-million on mansions, horses, rare books, and an $80,000 collectible teddy bear. Mr. Walsh has pleaded not guilty, and Mr. Greenwood will testify against him at trial.

The two promised low risks and high returns to investors in what was essentially a Ponzi scheme. Their 16 institutional investors included the University of Pittsburgh ($65-million invested), Carnegie Mellon University ($49-million), Bowling Green State University ($15-million), and Ohio Northern University ($10-million).

A former hedge-fund manager has pleaded guilty to charges of bilking as much as $900-million from investors, including four university endowments. Among the schools that lost money are Bowling Green State University and Ohio Northern University.

Here is a portion of a story from Paul Fain of the Chronicle of Higher Education:

In his plea, Paul R. Greenwood said on Wednesday that he and his partner, Steven Walsh, had spent money from the investment accounts on themselves and their family members. According to investigators, the two spent at least $160-million on mansions, horses, rare books, and an $80,000 collectible teddy bear. Mr. Walsh has pleaded not guilty, and Mr. Greenwood will testify against him at trial.

The two promised low risks and high returns to investors in what was essentially a Ponzi scheme. Their 16 institutional investors included the University of Pittsburgh ($65-million invested), Carnegie Mellon University ($49-million), Bowling Green State University ($15-million), and Ohio Northern University ($10-million).